​Social Issues As Shown Through Dance
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​Social Issues As Shown Through Dance

The Fairleigh Dance Project addresses social issues through dance.

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​Social Issues As Shown Through Dance
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On a Sunday evening the Fairleigh Dance Project had its first Spring Showcase. Social issues such as sexual assault, LGBTQ rights, police brutality, bullying, greed, power, breast cancer, substance abuse, women empowerment, and body image were presented through dance. All of these social issues have been addressed in so many different ways, but never have I seen them expressed in dance.

I was very impressed with the way these students were able to choreograph, choose costumes, and issues they would like to address. This club is run by President Kaitlyn Esposito, a freshman communications major, along with the Vice President Samantha Gee, a freshman writing major. This club seems to be organized and very well rehearsed. After attending this event I learned how powerful dance can be with portraying various social issues such as sexual assault, LGBTQ rights, police brutality, bullying, greed, power, breast cancer, substance abuse, women empowerment, and body image.

The first dance was to a song called Till’ It Happens to You by Lady Gaga. This dance addressed sexual assault and was choreographed by Kaitlyn Esposito and Samantha Gee. They portrayed this topic through a series of rapid movements, sadness in their facial expressions, and in the end they all grouped together. I believe the fast movements were to convey how fast it can happen to anyone. The sadness in their faces helps to show the viewer the song is deep and sad.

Lastly, I feel that when they came together in the end, it was to show that sexual assault victims have people there to support them and that they are never alone in coping. The topic of silence can be seen in a novel that has been going around campus called Friendswood by Rene Steinke. This novel covers many different types of silence including silence toward the environment, mental health, and sexual assault. There is no need to be silent because no one is alone, which leads to the next social issue LGBTQ rights.

Today more people are accepting to the LGBTQ community than in our countries past. More and more people are fighting for the rights of this group. No one should be afraid to show and express who they really are. This topic was expressed in a dance choreographed by Samantha Gee to the song Talk Me Down by Troye Sivan. This song can be interpreted in many different ways but the choreographer was able to use the song in their own way and clearly present it.

Police brutality and bullying are two more issues that were expressed. Police brutality was addressed in the dance choreographed by Zaria Wilder to 1960 What? by Gregory Porter. Through the song and the dance the audience can pick up on the meaning of the dance immediately. Violence also ties into the next dance choreographed by Nicole D’ Souza to Mean Girls by Rachel Crow. In this dance all of the dancers were paired into twos. Through the dance you can tell that they have a battle between them and paired with the song, the audience is able to clearly pick up the social issue.

The next two social issues I believe can be paired together. The first was the issue of greed and power. Choreographed by Kaitlyn Esposito to the song Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Lorde this dance shows greed and power. The viewer can pick this up not only through the song choice but through the movements chosen and the costumes. The outfits were green which can stand for greed. Within the dance the viewer sees power because one dancer knocks over the rest and climbs over them. It represents how this person has knocked down who they needed to and climbed to the top.

Greed and power can lead to the abuse of many different things and another topic covered was substance abuse. This topic was represented through a dance to Powers by Lostboycrow choreographed by Hannah Szarko. This dance shows substance abuse because each dancer had their own substance being abused. The abuse of pills was represented by the dancer motioning to taking pills. The abuse of alcohol was shown by the dancer motioning to downing a bottle. The abuse of heroin was shown by the dancer motioning to administering the drug. The last dancer was abusing smoking by motioning to a puff of a cigarette. In the end, all of the dancers drop to the ground in the way the abuser would die due to the substance they were abusing.

The next issues addressed all involved women. The topics included breast cancer, body image, and women empowerment. The dance for breast cancer was choreographed by Kaitlyn Esposito to Spoken Word Poetry by Jennifer Noon, who is an Associate Athletic Director. This dance was so different because it wasn't to a song; it was to poetry. This was a new approach that I had never seen before. It was such a powerful piece. The next topic was body image which was shown in a dance choreographed by Darlene Benjamin and Paige Hoheneder to Pretty Hurts by Beyoncé.

Another topic that is so important and always needs to be touched upon. People struggle so much with their body image and it is great to remind people that none of the outside matters, it is what is on the inside that does. This song is all about the stereotypes and expectations for women to live up to that really don't matter. The next dance is all about women empowerment. This dance was to Run the World by Beyoncé and choreographed by Mackenzie Oliver and Celia Veltry. The dance and the song are both so strong, and the message is absolutely clear. This song got everyone in the room amped. These issues involving women were very well done, and the connection between the song and dance was thoroughly thought out.

The last issue addressed was to take care of yourself first. This dance was choreographed by Celia Veltry, who went solo, to Save Myself by Ed Sheeran. Through this performance viewers learn to love themselves before they love others. This dance was as light as the music was and beautiful to watch. I feel this topic is so important and a good one to end on. If you can't love yourself, how could you love others? We need to stop judging ourselves and believe that we are wonderful, because we are.

This event was so eye opening and beautifully done. I have great admiration for any performer because they have the strength to get in front of crowds and just do what they love. I can't wait to see more from the Fairleigh Dance Project. Through this event I learned how powerful dance can be with portraying various social issues such as sexual assault, LGBTQ rights, police brutality, bullying, greed, power, breast cancer, substance abuse, women empowerment, and body image.

All that were involved: Darlene Benjamin, Nicole D’Souza, Kaitlyn Esposito, Samantha Gee, Paige Hoheneder, Kiashia LaSane, Mackenzie Oliver, Hannah Szarko, Celia Veltry, and Zaria Wilder.
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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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